The secret to life

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Deanna Brown

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January 29, 2012

By Deanna Brown Corsicana Daily Sun The Corsicana Daily Sun Sun Jan 29, 2012, 07:58 PM CST

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I used to be surprised and at times, confounded, when God would use other people to speak to an area of need in my own life.

Now, when it happens, I’m not shocked, but don’t take it for granted, either. It is very simply that I believe God put us here to be of help to one another. If your “eyes” are open, as well as your heart, I believe He speaks to us in a variety of ways, using many different mediums. It may be a song you hear on the radio, a devotion you receive in an email, or the story of someone else’s battle.

This month our February Explore cover girl is just such a person. Martha Phillips has been my friend since our kids went to school together. Our bond has deepened in recent years, since a story we did on her eldest son, Andrew, who is serving our country in the Air Force. Andrew just happened to be best friends since a very young age with Trey McDonald, the eldest son of our third amigo, Juli Reeves. Trey is a Marine who served in Afghanistan, among other places, and the story was about their friendship, and parallel service to country.

As friendships are prone to do, ours ebbed and flowed. At times, we went months without seeing or talking to one another. I confess, I’m not the greatest about staying in touch. A character flaw? Or byproduct of how many people I talk to in a day at work? Probably a combination.

Martha kept telling me more and more about this “Doc” as she calls him. I had noticed she was looking better and better, losing weight and having more zest for life.

But it truly wasn’t until we sat down to do this story for Explore that it really hit me just what a ministry she was to me.

For anyone who has ever been diagnosed with an incurable disease, I feel sure you go through a bout with grief. Not sure if you hit all the grief stages or not, such as anger, denial, acceptance, etc. But I know for myself, there were some dark days when I wondered if all my dreams and hopes for the future were dashed in that one diagnosis.

You wonder if you will ever have a day when you feel good again. You wonder if you will be able to afford your treatment, or even work.

Unless you are fortunate enough to have someone in your life who will listen lovingly to your fears, you may turn all this fear inward, many times resulting in a depression.

For me, hearing Martha’s story was liberating in a way. She gave voice to things that I’ve felt.

Not getting much relief from Western medicine, and its vast array of expensive chemical warfare on the human body, she turned to Doc at the urging of friends. It wasn’t love at first sight, but he got her attention in the first visit, which resulted in a second, and a third ...

I’ll just let you read the story. Please — if you’ve ever had a devastating diagnosis, have a loved one who has, or even if you haven’t (you never know what’s down the road), just read her story.

One thing she said really hit home to me, and it was this: “The secret to life is balance — and that seems really simple. For so many of us, it actually takes a diagnosis like MS to make us feel like we have a legitimate reason to balance.”

For this workaholic, chore-doing, unable to relax and take life easy old gal — that was an arrow right between the eyes.

I vowed right then to take better charge of my health. No, I haven’t yet made it up to Ennis to see Doc, but I’m going to. However, rather than just meekly go like a little lamb to the slaughter, I made a choice to find a new doctor, and one with compassion.

And I made another vow to myself. Not a resolution, mind you, simply a “Deanna vow.”

2012 is going to be the year I learn how to be achieve better balance in my life. I’m going to sleep when I need sleep. I’m going to seek rest and rejuvenation when I need it. Say “No” sometimes when my need for approval always made me say "Yes." Do more things I've wanted to do.

I’m going to do my best to make this the year I get better spiritual, mental, emotional and physical balance.

—————

Deanna Brown is a Daily Sun staff writer and editor of Ex•plore. Her column appears on Sundays. She may be reached by email at dbrown@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “Soundoff” on this story? Email: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com

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